Charlie Smith drub Cumberland 11-0

Charlie Smith High sounded a strong message when they drubbed Cumberland High 11-0 in Group B of the LIME/Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Manning Cup football competition, at Anthony Spaulding Sports Complex yesterday.

That was Charlie Smith's second win in three days, following victory on Saturday's opening day.

Striker Bebeto McDonald led the way with four goals in the 41st, 58th, 63rd, and 73rd minutes, while Shamar Pryce (67th and 85th), Odane Samuels (38th), Anthony Thompson (51st), Raphael Deacon (47th) Kimani Arbouine (44th) and Lejoun Riley (61st) were the other scorers.

Charlie Smith started well and pushed back the young Cumberland team on the defensive. However, some excellent saves by the visiting goalkeeper, Michael Ximines, kept Charlie Smith off the scoresheet for most of the first half.

However, after Samuels' opening goal, the floodgates were ripped off its hinges. Cumberland's coach, Wayne Fraser, started 12-year-old Mark Mitchell in the forward position, but he was not given the necessary support and was out of the game in the first 45 minutes.

Coach of Charlie Smith, Jerome 'Jerry' Waite, was not pleased with his team's overall performance.

"The scoreline is not important, it is to get the players to understand their role and play as a team," Waite told The Gleaner. "We are, however, pleased to have six points from two games as the aim is to top the group.

The long-serving Charlie Smith coach blasted McDonald for selfish plays.

"Bebeto needs to understand that it is a team game. He needs to play for the team and not as an individual," Waite also said.

Meanwhile, Cumberland's Fraser felt that poor officiating helped Charlie Smith.

"It was poor refereeing that cost us to lose by that margin. We also played without five players because their IDs were not ready," Fraser said.